Tag: Booknerd

I picked up this book because a bunch of girls from work had read it and said it was a great read. They compared it to Harry Potter meeting 12 years a slave mixed with the Hate u Gave. Intrigued I picked up the book, read the synopsis and was immediately drawn in. I read this book in less than a few days!!!!

First let’s start with the magic system. Can I say wow! I loved it. The way each maji has his/her own clan linked to a god is such a creative idea. Each clan represents some form of earthly aspect like Tiders who control the sea ! The idea the ability to perform magic is a gift from the god started off as privilege but we then see that even the ‘kosadan’ can be given magic making it become more inclusive. I find as the reader the longing to be a part of this magic system it becomes more ‘realistic’ knowing that it not just for the ‘gifted’ few.

The themes of this book are very deep and correlatable to real life issues. The genocide Zelie saw of her maji people is an all too common thread in our history and present day. People being afraid of others who are different and ideas they do not understand is an all too common occurrence. The way Tomi writes giving us glimpses as to why both sides think they have been wrong in this ordeal is brilliant. This gives the reader a chance to form their own opinion as to whose side they believe to right and not just tell the story from a singular point of view which may limit the reader’s journey. It also gives the reader more fluidity as they can change their opinions as the story unfolds and more information is brought into light.

The oppressed rising up and ‘re lighting the magic in their world is a great main focus journey. It is was easy to get behind this as a reader and really root for the main characters and their cause.

I love the mythical animal crossovers to our animal kingdom. Panthenairs and rhimones gives us just enough to imagine the base animal but then throw on things like fangs and horns. I would love to see the re imagining of these animals on the big screen!!!

Tomi is not short on throwing her plot twists into her story. Some of my favourites include Prince Inan has magic just from touching the scroll and then in the end it looks like he betrayed Zelie after we get so invested in their blossoming love affair. Boo by the way What good book wouldn’t throw a little turmoil at the readers though.

The most important message I took away from this book actually has to do this the title. Throughout the book we learn the history of the Sky Mother and Magical origin. Zelie learns that the Sky Mother made humans her children from her blood and bone- we are all equal and the same in the sky mother’s eyes and so we should be in each others. I think that considering the events flooding the news today this is a take away humanity needs right now. I know, very deep right ? Not all my share my interpretation but hey that’s what book reviews are for.

Looking a bit deeper I may even suggest the book shares that everyone is born with a gift and our decisions on how we use this shape ourselves and the world around us. We see this in the way Zelie views magic verses Inan. Zelie sees her gift as something to rejoice and share. Inan fears his magic and pushes it down. Each has been shaped by their past experiences and decisions.

I think it was refreshing to see the relationship between Zelie and Amari go from cool hatred to respect. In the beginning they are not necessarily friends but develop a respect for one another. I enjoyed this verses the straight to BFF path.

So my thoughts leaving this book are A strangely I think with would make a kick ass video game. The player would play Zelie going from checkpoint to checkpoint relating to the book. From Village to kingdom to jungle to the temple. B Of course there has to be a second book it left on a cliffhanger. I cannot wait for the second book to come and see if everyone really had ashe in their blood and what this means for their world. BTW its called Children of Vengeance and Virtue set to be release June 4 2019!!!!!!!

As always I would love to hear from your views on this book especially because it had some deep seeded themes!! Please leave any comment or thought below!!

What would you do if all you knew was a lie to protect you and your sheer existence puts everyone you know in danger?I was approached by the author Michelle Johnson to do a review for her book Oleah chronicles Truth in return for a free copy of her book. This has not affected my review which is unbiased. So I went into this book with no expectations and come out really enjoying the story. Michelle sure does have a vivid imagination to think up the premise of the Oleah creatures.

Let me first explain what they are. A Oleah can be described as a creature with a combination of human and lion features.

The top half of their faces resembles that of a lion, the bottom half human, along with a human torso and lion legs from the waist down. An Oleah also has the ability to morph into a lion. Oleahs have extremely heightened senses that are connected with the environment. They are impressive hunters and known throughout the galaxies for their agility, speed and loyalty.They’re amongst the most powerful mystical creatures throughout the galaxies.-from Oleah Chronicle website – http://www.oleahchronicles.com

So first off here is the synopsis of the book : Sixteen-year-old Angel Seriki is forced to face overwhelming truths about her so-called ordinary family when she meets Zander Black; a new student to her high school who is smart, charming and devastatingly beautiful. The revelations he uncovers to her about a danger that threatens to resurface from a past she never knew was her own, changes everything. Life as she knows it will never be the same again. In order to keep her family safe she has no choice but to trust Zander, despite his connection to her enemy. He’s the only resource she has if she ever expects to understand the true reality of who and what she is. However, things become complicated when neither can ignore the magnetic energy between them. As their relationship and feelings deepen, so do the risks involved. She must now accept her fate, even if that means giving up everything she knows, including being human.

Now let’s delve into the review. There are so many positive aspects of this novel. I really like the angle of multiple galaxies and one king and queen to ‘rule them all’, but fairly and lovingly. This one galaxy to rule them all is called Uforika where the King and Queen live with their daughter the princess. Then we learn throughout the novel that is under attack from a sorceress (Sindrell) who is no less than Satan’s sister. We see this Christianity underlying throughout the core of the story which I particularly liked. We hear of angels and cherubs as well. Living in the jungle of Uforika are the Oleah. The King and queen flee Uforika with the Princess – main character Angel- as she is born indestructible and Sindrell cuvette her to make her own powers greater with the end goal of ruling all the galaxies. While hiding on earth they do not have their Oleah powers and look like humans. They raise Angel with no previous knowledge of Uforika and Oleah people.

Enter Zander the dashing ‘highschool’ student. As the story develops we learn that he is Sinderll’s right hand man bent on destroying Angel. As he tries to find her on earth he becomes in a way humanized. I really liked that we got to see him regain his humanity which makes us root for him even more. His back story of how vampires were evolved is refreshing. The spin that he is the result of Adam and Eve’s sins was invigorating to read verses the same old I got bit by another vampire traditional telling.

All in all Angel’s journey of her Oleah’s heritage discovery was a great read and leaving the book on a cliffhanger was a brilliant idea. I’m hooked!!!!!

I do have one thing to say which is negative regarding the introduction. Michelle so vividly described the lush jungle background in Angel’s dreams I wanted that description in the introduction. I feel like it brushed by too fast and I almost lost interest without the detail. I also did not like the portals opening with glitter from Coral’s wing. As the book reads as an older YA I found this fact did not fit in with the rest of the feel of the book. All in all though super great read and I would totally recommend to a fantasy lover!

As always if anyone else has read this and has additional comments or thoughts feel free to add a comment.

Keep a lookout for my post next Monday as I am doing a review of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi